A pesticide commonly used to eliminate fish from waterways and that has been linked to Parkinson's Disease will soon be put to use in a Des Moines pond.

Iowa's Department of Natural Resources will use rotenone in the south side Easter Lake to help remove "detrimental" common carp and gizzard shad from the body of water.

The DNR will apply rotenone, which is derived from plant roots, Tuesday to Easter Lake and its watershed, according to a department news release. A note will be hung on nearby residents' doors 24 hours prior warning that humans and animals should avoid contact with the water during treatment. A second notice will let residents know when the water is safe to come into contact with again.

While it usually takes a day or two for the chemical to dissolve into flowing streams, it could take days or weeks to dissolve in surrounding ponds and the main lake. Public areas will be closed until further notice, the release states.

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Easter Lake, on the south side of Des Moines, was drained for restoration December of 2016.(Photo: Kelsey Kremer/The Register)

The deployment of the chemical in "specific areas" of Easter Lake has been planned for months. Along with the removal of carp and gizzard shad, a fish-rearing pond was built nearby and the outlet structure of the lake now features a barrier to stop "undesirable" fish from entering.

“At this time, approximately 50 landowners are located adjacent to the areas where the specifically targeted rotenone applications will be conducted, and each will be notified by door hangers with specific information,” DNR spokesman Alex Murphy said in a statement last month. “The areas will be completely closed off to the public during the application process.”

Those living near Yeader Creek during the last planned use of rotenone contacted the Register's Reader's Watchdog with concerns about the chemical.

The pesticide is considered faster and more effective than the alternatives. But a series of studies have linked the compound to Parkinson's Disease, a progressive nervous-system disorder that can cause tremors, muscle rigidity and slurred speech.

Mark Flammang, a DNR fisheries management biologist, disputed last month some of those studies and said more research points to rotenone being safe for those who apply it to waterways and those who are near it.

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Easter Lake, on the south side of Des Moines, shown in 2017.(Photo: Kelsey Kremer/The Register)

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